


The World’s Politest Ghost

by TomatoBookworm



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst with a Happy Ending, F/M, Lincoln Campbell Lives, Lincoln Lives, Temporary Character Death
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-11
Updated: 2020-10-11
Packaged: 2021-03-08 01:41:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,761
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26957506
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TomatoBookworm/pseuds/TomatoBookworm
Summary: Daisy knew perfectly well that imagining her dead boyfriend silently following her around was not the best coping strategy, but she couldn’t let him go. Maybe he never left her in the first place.
Relationships: Lincoln Campbell/Skye | Daisy Johnson
Comments: 16
Kudos: 43





	The World’s Politest Ghost

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [and they were roommates](https://archiveofourown.org/works/25996918) by [TheQueenInTheNorth](https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheQueenInTheNorth/pseuds/TheQueenInTheNorth). 



> \- I am sorry for taking Lou’s amazingly cute one line and turning it into this angst monster. At least I swear there is a happy ending to this? And then you all should go read Lou’s fic to wash the angst away with the fluff :) 
> 
> \- Science has been hand waved away for the purpose of this fic. Daisy and I believe in our bad word plays.
> 
> \- Written for @AOSShipsItAll October 2020 day 10: StaticQuake

It took a moment for Daisy to recognize her own room after she woke up. She wanted to go back to the holding cell after the Zephyr landed at the Playground, but Coulson said something about needing the space for James and the Primitives. Jemma had walked her back to her room and given her a sedative. Daisy welcomed it. She didn’t want to feel anymore. 

Now the feelings roared back with a vengeance. Daisy grabbed her blankets, but there was no warmth. The last time she was in her own bed, Lincoln was there. Did she wake up in his arms? Or did she roll over to kiss him good morning first? She couldn’t remember. It had been a normal day, like any others they’ve shared. Before Hive. Before everything. 

Daisy pulled the covers tighter around herself. She was shivering again. Jemma said it was a withdrawal side effect and that her body temperature regulation would normalize eventually. Daisy didn’t think so. The light in her life had gone out. 

“Lincoln,” Daisy whispered to the empty room. “Lincoln.” 

Tears fell, soaking the bed sheet. He’s gone. No one would hold her through the nightmare. It was all her fault. Everyone she loved left her eventually. 

All of a sudden, there was a slight shift in the air. 

Daisy looked up. The room was dark and nothing emerged, but she felt a faint vibration, like the atmosphere moving as someone came towards the bed. 

The tear stained skin on her face tingled as though touched by an electric current. The air pattern shifted, settling around her back and shoulders, like someone placing his arms around her. 

“Lincoln?” Daisy whispered to herself. She knew he couldn’t be here, but it was so tempting to think he came back, that he didn’t leave her. She allowed herself to rest in the invisible embrace. A moment’s solace, to stop herself from falling further into despair. “Lincoln.” 

  
  


* * *

  
  


No one said anything at first. Daisy knew perfectly well that imagining her dead boyfriend silently following her around was not the best coping strategy, and she wasn’t broadcasting it from the rooftops, but she couldn’t let him go. Imaginary ghost Lincoln wasn’t even that silent. Of course Daisy never saw or heard him, but she could swear she felt the vibrations in the air, a presence in the empty space. He nudged her towards food when she forgot to eat, prodded her to join her friends after she sat alone for too long, and held her through the nightmares. The team must have noticed the slight lags, the times when Daisy didn’t want to do anything before invisible Lincoln gently pulled her back to life, but they were too thankful to ask her any questions. 

Fitz was the one who finally brought up the topic. They were sitting in the lounge one night, playing video games. Mack was out on a mission, leaving Daisy behind since she wasn’t cleared yet for return to field duty. Jemma left the room to answer a phone call from her parents. Daisy felt a pang as she watched Fitz casually asking Jemma to say hello for him to the family. She could feel ghost Lincoln sitting next to her on the couch, but she would never have a conversation with him again. 

“I’m really glad things are working out,” Daisy told Fitz. “Jemma’s parents must be happy about you guys.” 

“Yeah, it’s nice since I know them already.” Fitz stopped for a moment before saying carefully, “They are good people, that’s why I believed Jemma when she said she wanted to go see her parents after, well, after.”

Daisy hit pause on the videogame, “You don’t usually talk about that.”

“It wasn’t the best period of my life,” Fitz said. “Things went downhill when I realized Jemma left. I started hallucinating, seeing and hearing her everywhere.”

“You muttered to yourself a lot,” Daisy remembered. “You were talking to her?”

“To the Jemma in my head, yeah.” Fitz’s eyes were understanding when he looked at her. “It’s natural to want to hold on, even if it’s only the memory of the person you love. Eventually though, you have to recognize what’s real and what’s not.”

“I know,” Daisy breathed out. “But I can’t let Lincoln go yet.” His last words replayed in her head, and the reply she never had the chance to give. The air moved, phantom hands caressing her shoulders as she made the admission aloud. “I’m still in love with him.”

* * *

  
  


Life continued on. Daisy grieved, but the ghost of Lincoln anchored her. Despite what Fitz said, Daisy didn’t think she was hurting anyone or herself by imagining Lincoln around. She wasn’t running away from the pain, simply allowing herself to take comfort from thin air. 

Besides, Daisy wasn’t making up Lincoln’s presence all the time. He hung out at the edge of her awareness when she was out in public spaces, staying beside her as she went about her day. If Daisy started a private conversation with someone though, she would feel the air vibrate as he moved away, so as not to intrude. Most markedly, he was never in the bathroom. Even in her subconscious, Lincoln respected her boundaries. 

Her subconscious didn’t know what was good for her. Daisy huffed as she tossed and turned in bed. Her body was restless tonight, and the phantom arms around her shoulders couldn’t calm her. 

“Lincoln,” Daisy half whined. “I miss you.”

A faint tingle touched her forehead. She always loved his forehead kisses, but now she wanted more. Daisy tilted her head blindly, not expecting to feel anything. Something brushed against her lips, and she could have sworn an electric current ran through her. 

“Lincoln, more.”

The air didn’t respond. If it was a hallucination, why couldn’t she envision him going beyond kissing? 

Because he’s not here, a treacherous voice said in her head. And he didn’t want you, remember? 

No. Lincoln only said they needed to work on themselves first before they could get back together. He loved her. He said so, before he—

Daisy fell back into the bedsheets with a cry. With a raised hand, she directed vibrations down her body. She didn’t want to think anymore. Just feel. 

The atmosphere shifted again. To her horror, she could sense the ghost Lincoln move away. 

“No! Don’t leave!”

The air paused. 

“Do I really hate myself that much?” Daisy asked out loud. “This is all in my head, and I can’t even imagine you would want to make love to me?” 

Something brushed against her hand, like the wind was trying to offer her comfort. Daisy closed her eyes. If she concentrated on the tremors around her, she could imagine Lincoln was here and trying to explain. 

“You love me,” Daisy said to her imaginary boyfriend. “You would stay if I want you to, but you also respect my privacy and would never watch me touch myself without my knowledge.” She could almost hear him say those exact words, see the fluster in his face. “Lincoln, you’re being stupid because you’re only in my head” —Daisy sat up— “Unless you are not.”

If ghost Lincoln was only a figment of her imagination, why couldn’t she see or hear him? Fitz had held full conversations with his hallucination of Jemma. She thought the vibrations in the air were wishful thinking, but her powers had never lied to her before. Back on the Bus, she had encountered a ghost, someone trapped in between dimensions. What if the same thing happened to Lincoln?

Daisy jumped out of the bed, threw on the first piece of clothing she saw, and ran. 

Fitz opened the door with a scowl, “Why the hell” —he lost some of the grumpiness when he saw Daisy— “are you knocking at this hour?”

“Lincoln is here, he’s haunting me.”

“Oh Daisy.” Jemma’s face appeared behind Fitz. “Come in, you don’t have to be alone tonight.”

“Simmons, I’m not going crazy.” Daisy forced herself to calm down. She needed to convince the scientists. “Remember Tobias the ghost? I think Lincoln is trapped in between dimensions too, and he’s here. With me.” 

“And what makes you think that?” Fitz asked. “Instead of acknowledging your brain is playing tricks?”

“Because my brain wouldn’t make up the world’s politest ghost.” 

  
  


* * *

  
  


It took FitzSimmons a lot of time in the lab, many heated debates about electromagnetic currents and dimension hopping, and a risky experiment that no one in charge officially knew about, then finally, finally, Lincoln was standing in front of her again. Daisy leapt into his arms. Mack had to forcefully pull her off so FitzSimmons could run more tests. After a marathon of exams, the scientists pronounced Lincoln healthy, Hive-free, and ready to return to his quarters. 

Daisy pulled him into her bunk instead. Lincoln came along easily, sitting down on her bed without a question. 

“You came back,” Daisy started, and she had to blink the tears away. “FitzSimmons said because of your powers, you were able to stay steady in between dimensions, and you could have chosen to go anywhere. You came back.”

“To you,” Lincoln said. “You were hurting, and I couldn’t walk away.”

“You said we have to work on ourselves before we can talk about being us.” Daisy sat down beside him. “I’ve been processing everything. Hive. You. It’s not like the scars will disappear, but I am healing.” She searched his face. “What about you?”

“Being stuck in between dimensions was not therapy, and I probably have a whole new list of issues to unpack now, but it did give me time to think,” Lincoln said. “I thought I wasn’t enough, that I could never give you what you wanted.” He looked back at her, eyes open and vulnerable. “Then I was here, and I realized how much you cared about me.”

“I want you,” Daisy said. “I want a family. People who will always love me. And I want you to be a part of it.” 

“I know,” Lincoln hesitated. “I didn’t mean to intrude, but I was there that night when you talked to Fitz.”

“Good.” Daisy took his hand. “Because I meant what I said. Holding on to the boy I love? Sounds right to me.”

Lincoln intertwined his fingers with hers, “Even when he’s the world’s politest ghost?”

“Especially then, since that’s how I know he’s real.” Daisy leaned in for a kiss. “Welcome back, Lincoln.”

“I never left,” Lincoln said before his lips met hers. “And I never will.” 

  
  



End file.
